Most of the congressmen, pundits, and organizations out there who are championing cuts in Medicare have no visceral ties to the program and thus will not be greatly affected by any of the changes that have been made, much less any of the new cuts that are being proposed on a daily basis. To combat this, I’d like to take this opportunity to humanize the problem for those who have no stake in this fight.

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. Many of you are probably saying to yourself “Arthritis? That’s nothing.” Wrong. Rheumatoid Arthritis is an auto-immune disease which affects millions. My body is quite literally eating my own joints, destroying them bit by bit as it would any perceived threat. Since I have been suffering from the disease since the age of nine, I have serious joint destruction and have had both hips replaced. I am 34 years old now, and again I am facing joint replacement. Both shoulders have to go within the year. In order to pay for this and more, my main source of medical insurance is Medicare. I rely on the service to provide me with a lifeline to the medicine and procedures I need in order to live any semblance of a normal life.